Plant apparatus and method for making metal wool



C. FlELD Nov. 8, 1 932.

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18, 1927 18 Sheets-Sheet 1 TITZ:

Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June is. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 200 E4 4 w H 2/6 Inventor Crosby Field.

Attorney Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD, 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18, 1927 13 Sheets-Sheet Z5 7 A tlomey Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND ammo]: FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18.- 1927 18 Sheets-She et 5 fig/0T 7 Q Invemur I Crosby F'i'e'ld.

Nov. 8, 1932. .c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL 7 Filed June l8, 19'27 iasheets-sheet 6 lrwentor Crosby Field.

- Attorney Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKiNG METAL WOOL Filed June 18, 1927 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 1/ i x F 452 m J26 F V Inventor 2 0 Crosby Field.

' Attorney Nov. 8,..1932. v c. FIELD 3 5 PLANT APPARATUS m5 METHOD. FOR MAKING METAL wooL Filed June 18, 1927 v 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 Inventor Attorney Noy. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,836,651

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18, 1927 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 I Inventor v Cr'osby Field Attorney Nov. 8, 1932. j c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT. APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June18. 1927 13 Sheets-Sheet 1:;

. Inventor Cr sby F7eld.

ttorney Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

' PLANT APPARATUS AND ME'IiHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Fiied June 18, 1927 18 Sheets-Sh'eet 11 In ven tor Crosby Field ttomey Nov. 8, 1932. c, L 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18. 1927 18 Sheets-Shet 12 4 357 427 Q nventor Crosby Field 5. m. 2 Attdmey Nov. 8,1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed.June 1a. 1927 13 Sheets-Sheet 15 Inventor Crosby Field.

Nov. 8 1932. v c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June'18. 1927 18 Sheets-Sheet 14 Inventor Crosby Field. I

Attorney c. FIELD 1,886,661

PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Nov. 8, 1932.

Filed. June 18. 1927 13 Sheets-Sheet l5 6% vkfi lllllll WWIIIIIJII E k- -l Crosby field by ,5

i Attorney 1. j NNQ n. .A H v mnwt Nov. 8,; 1 932. c, I D 1,886,661 PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL Filed June 18. 1927 18 Sheets-Sheet is Attomey Ndv. 8, 1932. c. FIELD 1,886,661

' PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKINGYMETAL WOOL Filed June 18, 1927 1,8 Sheets-Sheet l7 Inventor Crosby FIE/d.

/ Attorney Nov. 8, 1932. c. FIELD PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING METAL WOOL 13 Sheets-Sheet 18 Filed June 18. 1927 I lnrenfor Crosby Field.

Patented Nov. 8, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CROSBY FIELD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR. TO BRILLO MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK PLANT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HIKING METAL WOOL Application filed June 18,

My present invention relates to automatic plants and to methods for producing clean metal wool in long substantially uniform strands or fibers, and while many of the apparatus and parts disclosed in my Patents Nos. 1,608,478 .and 1,608,481, dated November 23, 1926, may be utilized as constituent elements of my plant, certain features in the nature of improvements on said apparatus may be used with or in place of said patented machines for more satisfactory coaction of the elements, in the operation of the plant as a. whole.

In my plant, I use the large diameter power driven traction rotor of my prior patents about which a continuous length of wire is wrapped in successiveturns. Cutting tools coact preferably with the upper half of the rotor periphery to shave the wool strands from the wire as the latter revolves therepast. A series of such rotors is preferably employed, about which the wire is continuously wrapped, in order to. reduce the wire by a single pass therethrough to the desired wool product. The Wire from the last of the rotors being too thin to withstand the strain of shaving, is conductedto a reel on which it is wound in a coil to be disposed of as waste.

According to the present invention, stationary inclined sheet metal guide shields, preferably curved downward, extend from one face of each rotor, the wool produced by the cutting tools sliding along said guide shields, preferably to bollecting pockets 10- cated between the successive shields.

The metal wool may be removed from these pockets through appropriate chutes, but in the preferred embodiment, these chutes ex tend obliquely upward in vertical planes parallel to the rotor drive shafts and are equipped with automatically operated conveyor rakes serving to engage and raise the wool along the chutes and to eject it through corresponding doors or gates near the ceiling of the plant for ejection into an adjoining chamber where the product is packaged.

Preferably as in my prior platents', jets of air areapplied adjacent the ives to direct the strands of wool away therefrom, so

1927. Serial No. 199,692.

that they will not become twisted and broken by re-engagement with the cutters. In this operation, any 'minute particles of dust, or chips are also loosened from the individual wool strands. To remove such'foreign particles from the wool before it has collected in the pockets, an appropriate ventilator is employed, disposed directly above the guide shields at a position such as to readily take up these particles, without, however, entraining the strands of wool. Preferably the ventilator' hoods extend acros the space between successive conveyor chutes and communicate laterally with the interiors of the chutes themselves, thereby to separate any further foreign particles loosened from the Wool in the action of the conveyor rake. The various ventilators are preferably connected in manner well understood toa common flue A with a ventilator fan in an end thereof.

The cooling or cutting fluid, .Which'may be a mineral oil, is applied from a centralized supply system to the surface of the wire being cut.

The freshly cut steel wool is combustible and may be ignited due to the heating of the cutters or other accident. I have discovered that in my plant, such fire may be communicated to the fine wool in the pockets, or oil dust in theflues, so that it spreads rapidl and becomes a serious danger eventhoug the entire construction may be fireproof. To avoid the spread of fire, a sprinkler system is used which includes spray nozzles over the pockets and in the flue, said'nozzles being connected with a water main. A series of quick opening valves are provided one at each cutting unit, each of which may be operated by pulling a handle located at a convenient position and connected with the valve in any parts of, the plant.

As a preliminary step to cleaning the wire as it is fed onto each traction rotor, a wiper is preferably provided with a soft pad to .wipe any chips or dust from both the bed of the rotor and the surface of the wire length about to pass upon the rotor. Inasmuch as wire frequently has s ots of hard and unsuitable material formed y seg regated manganese or the like, and such spots are not readily shaved by the 'wool cuttin blades employed, the plant is equipped wit means which will not only separate such undesirable wire portions, but will segregate the scrap ribbon or shavin thus formed from the steel wool. For this purpose, it is preferred to provide each rotor with a cutter blade of specially hard material, said tool,

9 however, located at the lower part of the rotor below the' guide shield, so that any ribbon cut therefrom will drop below the guide shield free from the steel wool. While proper wire isfed to the machine, the auxiliary blade doesnot function, but when the shaving blades are manuall moved to inefiective position, the auxiliar blade will -then functionto out off the ribbon of un-' V tions in direct alignment with the respective free from access of wool particles that might stats located immediately in backof the re- 'spective rotors inappropriate arches in the drive shafts of the rotors, and to the rear ofthe guide shields and of the vertical separating walls. The motors are therebyjrendered readily accessible and are kept entirely be ignited by contact with sparking commutator bars or brushes. The electric inter locking control between the motors, preferably embodies rheostats actuated bythe tension control .of the rotor drums,-said.rheofoundations of the res otive lndtors.

To avoid frequent 'sabling of the plant due to rupture of a weak part of the wire,

and more especially due to rupture of a defective weld in the end to end connections of the successive commercial lengths of wire, which are preliminarily combined, it'is preferred to provide at the inlet end of the plant .in advance of the first of the rotors, an

appropriate automatic testing appliance, through'which thewire is fed preferably on its way to the-reel from which the tension.

' rotors are fed. The testing device is so arranged; that it will break'any'part of the cient strength,-so thatgfther weak section Serial No. 297,316, filed Au ,11'-11 of Fig.. 12; lentgt h'or any welded joint in the wire of inteac er can be excised, or the weak joint re-welded before the deficient part of the wire is fed onto the reel. Preferably, while one reel supplies the wire to the cutting installation,

- wire is rolled upon another reel, the commercial lengths. of said wire being welded to.-

ether by hand and tested in the manner referred to. W hen the supply or service reel is about-exhausted, it is interchanged with the previously charged reel, to feed the wool cutting mechanism from the latter, and to wind a fresh supply of wire on the previously emptied service reel.

In the present application I have claimed more especially the general correlation of various constituent machine elements and parts in plant. operation. Each of the various component elements making up the plant is separately claimed in a distinct divisional application. These divisional applications include the following: Serial No. 297 ,314, filed August 3, 1928 to the wool cutting machinery;- Serial 'No. 297,317, filed August 3, 1928 to the wool conveyor means;

st 3 1928 to the wire reeling construction; erial lTo. 297,315,

filed August 3, 1928, to the means for regulating the tension of the wire between the several units of the machine; Serial No. 297,- I

320, filed Au ust 3, 1928 to the wire tester; Serial No. 29 ,318, filed August 3, 1928 to the system for feeding cutting or cooling fluid; and Serial No. 297,319, filed August 3, 1928 tothe electric operating and control arrangement.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the machine; I Fig. 2 is an endview showing the loops of wire extending from the cylindrical bed to a roller beneath said bed for transferring the wire from one groove to another of the bed;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing the adjacent strands of wire in their respective grooves of the bed and their relation to the lmife;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the wire testing and winding mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a view of the tension indicating means of the wire tester as seen from the leftthe line 10-10 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line Fig. lllis a detail sectional view' tak n on f Fig. 12 is a sectional top plan view of the 

